Input and output device with frame

ABSTRACT

In order to manufacture an input and output device ( 1 ) for industrial use as cost-effectively as possible, while also fulfilling the demanding requirements in an industrial environment, it is provided that the frame ( 2 ) of the input and output device ( 1 ) is assembled from a plurality of individual frame sections ( 2   a,    2   b,    2   c,    2   d ) which are connected to one another at the corners ( 14   a,    14   b,    14   c,    14   d ) in order to form the frame ( 2   a,    2   b,    2   c,    2   d ) and which are firmly bonded at the adjoining connecting surfaces ( 15 ) in order to form a fully sealed external front face ( 6 ) of the frame ( 2 ) and a fully sealed external circumferential surface ( 13 ) of the frame ( 2 ).

The subject of the invention relates to an input and output device for industrial use with a frame which is sealed around the circumference with a continuous central recess in which an input/output unit is set in, and a method for the manufacturing of such a frame and input and output device.

A majority of modern input and output devices as man-machine interfaces are based on display or touch screen technology as input and output units. Buttons, knobs, switches, etc. are also common as input and output units. This applies in particular and increasingly for industrial applications as well, e.g. for controlling machines and systems. Owing to increasing levels of automation, appropriate image rendering input and output devices such as displays, touch screens, etc. are common on machine tools, machining centres and processing machines, control cabinets, monitoring and control units for process and flow control, and the like.

Precisely thanks to the use of input and output devices in connection with industrial applications, the demands on such devices in an industrial environment with regard to mechanical robustness and resistance to external influences and situations rise accordingly. These requirements can in no way be compared with the demands on conventional input and output devices, in particular displays, as they exist in a private environment for monitors and televisions, for example.

In general, input and output devices for industrial use are designed with appropriately stable and durable housings or frames intended for these input and output devices. For this reason, device frames for input and output devices for industrial use are made from metal, typically aluminium.

In addition, there can also be requirements for the sealing tightness of input and output devices since there can often be spray in an industrial environment, against which the display must be sealed. During cleaning of a machine or system, too, there can be spray pressure against which the display must be protected.

Equally, there are often demands of a hygienic nature. In particular, this deals with options for preventing the accumulation of dirt on the display to the greatest extent possible. Above all, grooves, gaps and recesses on the display and on the display frame should be avoided here.

In order to be able to fulfil all these requirements, displays for industrial applications are manufactured, according to the current state of the art, with one-piece frames which house the display.

As a result of the low quantities of such displays for industrial use, these frames are manufactured, according to the current state of the art, through machining from the whole piece, for example through milling. Naturally, this results in very high material losses, which increases the costs for such display frames and also makes manufacturing time-consuming and inefficient.

In principle, such one-piece display frames could also be manufactured using die casting or injection moulding processes, but there is little prospect for this owing to the high tooling costs (e.g. for dies) as a result of the low production volumes.

A frame for an LCD display which is assembled from individual frame sections is known from CN 2844970 Y. Here, the frame sections are cut out from a panel of the display material, assembled to form a frame and the flat frame sections are joined at the joints (e.g. through soldering, welding or using rivets). The corners of the flat frame are then punched out and the sides are bent in order to form a frame with an L-shaped cross section. It is obvious that such a frame cannot be sealed at the corners at which the bent sides adjoin each other. Such a frame is therefore unsuitable for an industrial application.

A frame for a flat-screen display which is assembled from individual frame sections is also known from KR 10 2005 0027375 A. Here, the plastic frame sections are plastic components in the form of pressed parts which are fused at the joints. The frame has a recess at the corners, meaning that the frame is not sealed and is therefore not suitable for industrial use.

The object of the present invention is to produce an input and output device for industrial use as cost-effectively as possible, which device also fulfils the above-specified requirements in an industrial environment.

This object is fulfilled according to the invention in that the frame being assembled from a plurality of individual frame sections which are connected with one another at the corners in order to form the frame and are firmly bonded (substance-to-substance joint) at the connecting surfaces in order to form a fully enclosed front face of the frame and a fully enclosed external circumferential surface of the frame. Since a wide variety of profiles in a wide variety of embodiments are used for a wide variety of areas of application, these are widely available and appropriately cost-effective. Since hardly any waste and/or scrap is produced by the usual methods of production of the profiles, regardless of their material, an additional cost advantage applies. Thanks to the frame which is entirely externally sealed, the input and output device which is set into the frame can be appropriately protected, whereby the requirements can be fulfilled.

The firmly bonded joints represent cost-effective joining technology with a range of advantages. On the one hand, such joints generally allow for greater tolerances for the joined parts, and on the other hand the joint can also act as a seal at the same time. In addition, the joint can also ensure sufficient stability for the frame. Last but not least, substance-to-substance joining methods can be controlled easily and safely, leading to high process reliability in the production of the frames.

A glued joint, solder joint or welded joint is preferably used as the substance-to-substance joint for two frame sections adjoining one another.

The external appearance of the frame can be improved if at least two frame sections adjoining each other are mitred or dovetailed for forming the connecting surfaces at a corner of the frame. In addition, such connecting surfaces also simplify the automated, mechanical production of a frame.

For hygiene reasons, it is advantageous for any joining material which protrudes after joining to be removed from the external front face and/or the external circumferential surface through finishing. As a result, no dirt can accumulate there. The same effect can be achieved if a cover sheet which covers at least the bonding layer is glued over the external front face and/or the external circumferential surface, or the external front face and/or the external circumferential surface is painted or coated at least in the area of the bonding layer.

The present invention is described below in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 which show advantageous embodiments of the invention in a schematic and non-restrictive way. Shown here

FIG. 1 an input and output device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 the mounting of the input and output device according to the invention on a support plate,

FIG. 3 a view of a connecting surface on a frame section made from a hollow profile,

FIG. 4 a section through a sealing layer,

FIG. 5 a finished sealing layer, and

FIG. 6 a sealing layer with a covering overlaying it.

FIG. 1 shows an input and output device 1 according to the invention for an industrial environment with a frame 2 with a central, axial continuous recess 3 through the frame 2 in which the one input and output unit 4, e.g. a display, a touch screen, a unit with buttons, knobs or switches, or a combination of such elements, is set in. The input and output unit 4 can be inserted into the input and output device 1 in a wide variety of ways.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the input and output unit 4 has an external circumferential ridge 5 running around the circumference. The frame 2 has a circumferential groove 7 complementary to the circumferential ridge 5 on its external front face 6, i.e. the front face which is visible during operational use of the input and output device 1, in which the circumferential ridge 5 is set in. The circumferential ridge 5 and circumferential groove 7 are preferably dimensioned such that a flush continuous external front face of the input and output device 1 is achieved, as indicated in FIG. 2. The input and output unit 4 can be glued between the circumferential ridge 5 and circumferential groove 7 in order to fix it in the frame 2. Suitable sealing elements, such as O-rings for example, can also be located between the circumferential groove 7 and circumferential ridge 5. However, it is also possible for the input and output unit 4 to be attached to the frame 2 in a different manner, e.g. with a screw, clamp or snap connection, or similar. Likewise, it is also possible for the input and output unit 4 to simply be inserted loose into and held in the frame 2.

The input and output device 1 is generally inserted into an assembly hole 9 in a support plate 8, e.g. in a control cabinet or a control panel of a machine, wherein the frame 2 lies flat on the support plate 8 and is connected to the support plate 8 by means of the frame 2, as shown in FIG. 2. A clamping fixture 10, for example, can be provided on the input and output unit 4 in the form of a screw 11. The frame 2 can be clamped to the support plate 8 by means of the screw 11 and the input and output device 1 can therefore be fixed. Likewise, a seal 12 can be located between the frame 2 and the support plate 8, as described in EP 2 590 489 A2, for example.

The frame 2 is made up of a plurality of individual frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, and in the example according to FIG. 1 is made up of four frame sections. The frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d are preferably formed of profiles, e.g. made from metal or plastic, cut to the required length. The profiles can be solid or hollow profiles with essentially any desired cross section. It is preferably intended that the metal or plastic profiles which form the frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d are extruded profiles and/or pultruded profiles. Extrusion constitutes a particularly cost-effective and efficient manufacturing technique for appropriate profiles and is widely used for this reason. Such profiles are comparatively cost-effective and are available quickly and in sufficient quantities.

The frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d are connected to one another at the corners 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d of the frame 2. To this end, the frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d can be mitred at the corners 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d of the frame 2, as shown in FIG. 1. Instead of a mitre, the frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, particularly when solid profiles are used, can simply be joined to one another edge to edge at the corners 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d. It is likewise possible for the frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d to be dovetailed at the corners 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d.

Each two adjoining frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d are firmly bonded (in the form of a substance-to-substance joint) to one another at their resulting facing connecting surfaces 15 (FIG. 3), e.g. mitred surfaces or dovetailed surfaces, whereby a bonding layer 20 is formed. A glued joint, a welded joint or a solder joint can be used for this.

Owing to the complex cross-sectional shape of the frame 2, for example with the circumferential groove 7 and the recess for the seal 12, and the small dimensions, the joining process is complicated in terms of production if the desired seal and a clean surface are to be achieved. The finished frame 2 must be fully sealed on the external front face 6 of the frame 2 and on the external circumferential surface 13 of the frame 2 for industrial use. Here, fully sealed means that no medium, such as spray or cleaning agent for example, can penetrate from outside into the interior of the input and output device 1.

In the case of a glued joint, a suitable joining agent 16 (adhesive) is applied to at least one connecting surface 15 of the adjoining frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d (FIG. 3). The joining agent 16 is preferably applied to the connecting surface 15 continuously over the circumference. However, the joining agent 16 is at least applied such that the resulting bonding layer 20 is completely sealed in the area of the external front face 6 and the external circumferential surface 13 of the frame 2, i.e. the surfaces of the input and output device 1 which are visible during proper use, so that a completely sealed surface results on the external front face 6 of the frame 2 and on the external circumferential surface 13 of the frame 2 and the resulting bonding layer 20 in particular has no holes through which a medium, such as spray or cleaning agent for example, can penetrate from outside into the interior of the frame 2. After application of the adhesive, the adjoining frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d are pressed together using an appropriate device until the adhesive squeezes out on all sides. The adhesive is then cured and the glue joint is finished in order to achieve a clean surface. To this end, at least the external visible circumferential surface 13 and front face 6 should be finished in order to achieve a clean surface, in particular a continuous surface without any indentations or protrusions.

The same applies similarly in the case of a solder or welded joint. Here, too, the frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d are joined such that the resulting bonding layer 20 is completely sealed in the area of the external front face 6 and the external circumferential surface 13 of the frame 2, i.e. the surfaces of the input and output device 1 which are visible during proper use, so that a completely sealed surface results on the external front face 6 of the frame 2 and on the external circumferential surface 13 of the frame 2 and the resulting bonding layer 20 in particular has no holes through which a medium, such as spray or cleaning agent for example, can penetrate from outside into the interior of the frame 2. For a solder joint, solder can likewise protrude at the joint, and this should subsequently be at least partially removed in order to achieve a clean surface. A welded joint should also preferably be at least partially finished. To this end, at least the external visible circumferential surface 13 and front face 6 should be finished in order to achieve a clean surface, in particular a continuous surface without any indentations or protrusions.

The glued joint can preferably be realized using a thin-film process. The corresponding adhesive gaps between the individual frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d are small, preferably in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm, preferably 0.1 mm, and can very easily be completely filled with the adhesive used. The most homogeneous possible appearance without visible, external defects can thus be realized. Furthermore, with proper control of the adhesion process, there are no appreciable irregularities on the surface in the area of the joint, whereby the accumulation of dirt is also kept as low as possible in this area.

Ideally, the joining agent 16 is applied such that the joining agent 16 neither protrudes on the front face 6 (circumferential surface 13) nor forms a recess at this point.

As shown in FIG. 4, however, a joining agent 16, for example an adhesive or fusible link etc., can deliberately be applied such that the joining agent 16 emerge at the front face 6 and the circumferential surface 13 during assembly of the frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d and protrudes from the front face 6 and from the circumferential surface 13. If an even external front face 6 and an even external circumferential surface 13 are desired then the joined frame 2 can also be finished, in particular machine finished, after joining, i.e. after adhesion and curing of the adhesive for example, in order to remove the protruding joining agent 16, as shown in FIG. 5. However, the removal of the protruding joining agent 16 before curing, e.g. by wiping or stripping it off, may suffice for finishing.

The joining agent 16 can also be applied such that the joining agent 16 does not emerge at the front face 6 and the circumferential surface 13 during assembly of the frame sections 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, but rather a small recess 21 remains at this point, as shown in FIG. 6. If there are hygiene requirements for the input and output device 1 then such a recess 21 can be undesirable. In this case, it can be provided that a cover 22 is arranged on the front face 6 and/or on the circumferential surface 13 which covers at least the bonding layer 20. The cover 22 can be made as cover sheet, for example, which is glued onto the surface. Alternatively, the firmly bonded frame 2 can be coated, e.g. through powder coating, or painted at least in the area of the bonding layer 20, preferably in its entirety, on the external front face 6 and/or the circumferential surface 13 as the cover 22.

The application of a cover 22, e.g. in the form of a cover sheet, a coating or paintwork, can of course also occur on a frame as shown in FIG. 4 or 5. In this case, it may be possible to save on finishing of the frame 2 after joining. 

1. An input and output device for industrial use with a frame (2) which is sealed around the circumference with a continuous central recess (3) in which an input/output unit (4) is set in, wherein the frame (2) is assembled from a plurality of individual frame sections (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) which are connected to one another at the corners (14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d) in order to form the frame (2), characterized in that the frame sections (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) are firmly bonded at the adjoining connecting surfaces (15) using a glued joint in that an adhesive gap in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm formed between two adjoining frame sections (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) is filled with adhesive and the adhesive, as a joining agent (16), forms a bonding layer (20) which is fully sealed in the area of an external front face (6) and an external circumferential surface (13) of the frame (2) in order to form a fully sealed external front face (6) of the frame (2) and a fully sealed external circumferential surface (13) of the frame (2).
 2. The input and output device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least two adjoining frame sections (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) are mitred or dovetailed in order to form the con-necting surfaces (15) at a corner (14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d) of the frame (2).
 3. The input and output device according to claim 1, characterized in that protruding joining agent (16) is removed from the external front face (6) and/or the external circumferential surface (13) through finishing after joining in order to achieve an even external front face (6) and/or external circumferential surface (13).
 4. The input and output device according to claim 1, characterized in that a cover sheet which covers at least the bonding layer (20) is glued over the external front face (6) and/or the external circumferential surface (13).
 5. The input and output device according to claim 1, characterized in that the external front face (6) and/or the external circumferential surface (13) is painted or coated at least in the area of the bonding layer (20).
 6. A method for the production of a frame (2) which is sealed around the circumference for an input and output device (1) for industrial use, wherein the frame (2) is assembled from a plurality of individual frame sections (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) which are connected to one another at the corners (14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d) in order to form the frame (2), characterized in that the frame sections (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) are firmly bonded at the adjoining connecting surfaces (15) using a glued joint in that an adhesive gap in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm is formed between two adjoining frame sections (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d), which is filled and cured with an adhesive as a joining agent (16) in order to form a bonding layer (20) which is fully sealed in the area of an external front face (6) and an external circumferential surface (13) of the frame (2) in order to form a fully sealed external front face (6) of the frame (2) and a fully sealed external circumferential surface (13) of the frame (2).
 7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that a joint is at least partially fin-ished in order to form a flawless surface.
 8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that joining agent escaping from the adhesive gap is removed before curing.
 9. A method for the production of an input and output device (1) for industrial use with a frame (2) which is sealed around the circumference, which is manufactured according to claim 6, wherein an input/output unit (4) is inserted into a continuous central recess (3) in the frame (2). 